Ethanol in Fuel

Not long ago our congressional buds in D.C. voted that so long as a slice of pizza had two tablespoons of tomato paste it could be considered a vegetable. That way pizza, the notorious junk food, could continue as a school lunch item and not run afoul of the government’s own rules demanding that school lunches include more vegetables. As a former employee of a major pizza chain, I knew pizza, I worked with pizza, pizza was a friend of mine . . . pizza, you’re no vegetable. I can testify that the pizza crust has scandalous amounts of bleached white flour and enough salt to leave a bald spot at Bonneville. We won’t even get into the animal fat in pepperoni and cheese. Yet it worked out beautifully: Kids still get their beloved ’za, and representatives can report to their districts that, by golly, they’re cracking down on junk food in schools.

A similar stunt has been going on in your muscle car’s gas tank. Since 1975, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has established Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, originally set at 18 mpg for 1978 passenger cars and stable for 20 years at 27.5 mpg. Because DOT adopted new standards in 2009, spiking to 54.5 mpg in 2025, one might reasonably conclude that fuel efficiency is huge government priority, kind of like more vegetables in the school lunchroom. But along comes the tomato paste lobby—corn in this case—proclaiming energy independence and bushels of renewable eco wonderfulness. So partly because we wanted to believe that and because Iowa, heart of the Corn Belt, is a key state in presidential primaries, we’re now pumping 10 percent ethanol into our cars, old and new. That percentage is set to jump to 15 percent as soon as the EPA can get it implemented.

This provision of the Renewable Fuel Standard brings with it a host of problems: additional fuel burned to grow and transport the corn, fertilizer runoff, the ethical dilemma of using food for fuel, cost spikes in both, discouragement of competing and possibly better technologies, reduced gasoline efficiency and mileage, refiners buying and selling credits, and the key downfall—minimal effect on national oil consumption or emissions. Even environmentalists are turning thumbs-down on the ethanol solution. Like so many government remedies, the side effects make you wish for the disease back.

The problem is worse for vintage cars. Along with being a less-efficient fuel that robs power and fuel economy, ethanol attracts moisture, moisture being the fuel of corrosion. For vintage cars that tend to sit a lot, moisture wreaks havoc on fuel systems. Ethanol is hard on gaskets and seals. Fuel pump diaphragms have reduced lifespans. It turns the inner surface of rubber fuel line into a goopy semisolid. Metal parts like steel fuel lines and carburetor shafts corrode.

In some cases, ethanol-resistant parts are available. But when an accelerator pump diaphragm on a concours Shelby G.T. 350 I saw in the final stages of restoration developed the signature ethanol leak, the ethanol-compliant replacement was bright green, and the Shelby judges deducted points for it. These are things I have personally seen and experienced, and some of it I’ve photographed. (Note to the pro-ethanol lobby: Don’t bother contacting me with happy PR to dispute my experience.)

I recently got to channel my low opinion of ethanol in a positive direction. A month or two ago I got an email from the SEMA Action Network, which oversees legislative matters state by state and alerts its network of enthusiasts who have asked to be informed. A bill was under consideration here in Florida to repeal the state’s ethanol mandate. The email included links to each legislator’s email address. I took a few minutes, wrote out my objections as persuasively as I could (respect and logical reasoning go a long way), and sent my thoughts, along with a picture I took of ethanol damage to one of my carbs, to Tallahassee.

The bill passed in the last legislature and was signed into law by the governor. SEMA even highlighted my efforts as part of the successful push in one of its online newsletters.

Florida’s mandate has since been repealed, but the victory is largely symbolic since the Federal mandate is still in force. We still have fuel cut with underachieving corn squeezin’s. But it’s a step in the right direction.

I trust that as more citizens and elected officials come to understand ethanol’s empty promise, we can shift our focus to things that actually work.

Ed. note: Florida is just the first state to enact legislation against ethanol blends. Maine’s governor signed a bill prohibiting the sale of corn-based ethanol, though the wording of the bill requires other states enact a similar prohibition before the Maine law could go into effect, according to SEMA. To stay on top of this issue and help fight the battle, as Tom did, become a member of the SEMA Action Network. Membership is free, and the newsletters will keep you up-to-date on this and all kinds of other issues that affect our hobby. Visit www.semasan.com for more info.